January has been awful. I haven’t taken my bike outside since Christmas Eve. But it’s been good for Zwift. I’ve finally reached level 18 and unlocked the Specialized Shiv Disc TT bike. I also completed the Everest challenge (not all at once) and unlocked the Trek Emonda. Onwards to the Tron bike!
One of the things they don’t walk about much in NFL is playing through the pain. You get beat up but you just keep playing. Thi is how my Super Bowl went. Despite a painful stomach ache from about half time, I managed to consume 2,300 kcals of the buffet I prepared. Including a slice of the 4,500 kcal cheesecake I made.
Oh, and Tom Brady really id the greatest. Not that anyone doubted.
Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons is a book Bryon Powell.
I have read so many books on ultras recently, I am not going to say too much about them for fear I am confusing different books. But everything about this book was very good. On balance, I prefer it to Hal Koerner’s Field Guidem which is also a good read. But the advice in Powell’s book feels a little more practical, comprehensive and accessible.
Hal Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond is a book by Hal Koerner (pretty obviously). Koerner is an ultrarunner who has won many of the famous American ultras including Western States, Javelina Jundred and Hardrock.
It is a solid book with plenty of advice. I would recommend it to anyone getting into ultra running.
I read this book in about 20 minutes. I’m not against shorts books as long as they deliver value, but to me, this read like a rambling monologue with very little structure and I did not learn much about ultra running.
I’m now an IRONMAN Certified Coach. I am already a certified coach with British Triathlon, but it is reassuring to know that my coaching skills also extend to looking after long format athletes and that I am not just winging it based on my personal experience completing full distance and 70.3 races.
I might write up a proper review of the IRONMAN U programme later but in the final assessment, your skills get put to the test when you have to design a detailed training plan for a fictional athlete looking to complete their first full distance event. It was tougher than expected but the work apparently paid off as I achieved 98%.
Last weekend, I completed my restorative yoga teacher training. If there is one thing I have learnt about my body, it is that I need a lot of props to build the ground up to me 😀 . Luckily, there is no limit to the support you can use if you are creative enough.
Last month, I completed the Alps to Ocean virtual ultra, which is a 290 km run across New Zealand. It is always a pleasure to receive one of the medals because The Conqueror put so much effort into theirs.
The Humanist Chaplaincy network has relaunched its digital platform and, for the first time, has brought its training course into digital as well. The new Humanist Chaplaincy Level 1 provides an introduction to the foundations of philosophy, theory and practice as a non-religious chaplain. Find out more on their website.
Online Mindfulness School has launched its first yoga teacher training. It’s an introductory level course rather than a 200-hour course, but would be excellent prep for the latter.